Stop joint for liquid filled cables



L. EMANUELI Oct. 30, 1934.

STOP JOINT FOR LIQUID FILLED CABLES Filed OC. 30, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet STOP JOINT FOR LIQUID FILLED CABLES L. EMANUELI Filed oct. 30, 1930 2 sheets-sheet 2 D 5 Zmventor,

by Mij Gttorneg Patented oct 30, '1934.

PATENT oFFicE v 1,979,149 w s'ror :om ros. LIQUID man castas Luigi Emanueli, Milan, Italy, asslxnor to S. I.

' Pirelli, a corporation of Italy Application October 30, 1930, Serial No. 492,343

2 Claims. (CI. 173-268) The present invention is directed to an lmprovement on the cable joint disclosed and claimed in my United States Patent 1,698,051 issued January 8, 1929.

5 At the present time it is the practice to ship cable, which has'been lled with oil, from the factoryV to the point of installation, the ends of said cable being suitably sealed during transit to prevent the escape of oil. It is also the practice to make the joints in the iield wherever required, usually in manholes below'the surface of the streets where the working conditions are extremely unfavorable due to lack o! space, dirt,

and moisture. In addition the jointer has to 1,5 contend with a certain although limited amount Vof oil which escapes from the conductor ends during the splicing or joining operation.

My invention. has for its object to reduce to a minimum the amount of work which the jointer has to do in the field and also to provide an improved form of joint the principal'parts of which may be made in the factory where the conditions are favorable to good workmanship and where close inspection by competent per- 25 sons is available at all steps in the manufacture.

A further object of my invention is an 1mproved method of making and installing cable joints whereby the operations are materially slmpliiied and more uniform results obtained.

3G For va consideration of what I believe to be novel and my invention, attention is directed to the accompanying description and-the claims appended thereto.

In the drawings which are illustrative o1 my l invention,

Fig. lis a. view oi a stop tion;

Fig. 2 is'a part sectional and part elevational 'view of the left end o1' the joint of Fig. 1; 4o Fla. 3 is a sectional view of the midsection Y ot the joint of-Flg. 1 with the outside casing omitted;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectionalview taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of one end of the cable section or reel length and illustrates the part of the joint which is made in the neld.

f It is to be understood that stop joints are special joints used for interrupting theilow of oil or other insulating liquid between two adjacent sections of a fluid illled cable, while the electrical connection between the sections is maintained.

' As indicated above, my improved joint comvjointer in the iield.

joint in eleva-A` is prepared in the factory which is the principal part and which is later shipped with its contents intact to the point of installation, and the minor part which is prepared by the 60,

The part which is prepared in the factorycomprises a cylindrical outer' casing i in the form of a tube, a portion 2 of reduced diameter which is suitably jointed to the tube l and a portion 3 of smaller diameter which is suitably 65 f jointed to the part 2. The various parts of v the casing are telescopically arranged and may be joined by wiped soldered joints. "The opposite end of the casing is similarly constructed.

Inside oi' the casing are two duplicate insula- 70 tors 4 made of porcelain or equivalent material, said insulators being of tubular form and gradually tapering from the outer to the inner end, there being a small clearance between the inner wall thereof and the insulation on the encased conductor. For simplicity only one of these insulators is shown but it is to be understood that Y Y Ibotharealikeandaresupportedinthesam manner and having the same axis.

The large end of the insulator is-supported in a metal cap which comprises a head 6 and .a-bell-shaped portion '1 which nts the inner wall'otthepartzotthecasingandisheldin placeby screws 8 which are subsequently covered with solder to seal the joints. The head makes a good nt with the inner wall of the casing part 3 and is soldered thereto to sealthe joint. It will be observed Vthat the parts 2 and A3 of the casing are in telescopic relation which serves to stlen the casing in the region of the head. The cap is supported at both ends, by the head at one end andthe flaring end 'l at the other. As a result the insulator is freed of any casing strains. The cap and insulator are united by a body o! cement 9. It is desirable 95 v to provide a gasket between the insulator and the cap toprevent direct contact between them.

The inner end of the insulator is also provided with a' metal cap 10 which to distinguish it from the other. cap and also to designate its purpose wlll'be termed a contact cap. This can has a socket at one end to receive the inner end of the insulator and the two parts are united by a body of cement 11; By dispensing with flanges on the insulators and making them of tubular form the danger of breaking or cracking both in the manufacture of the insulator and in the assembly is greatly reduced. 'I'he cap has a closedV inner end and also a cylindrical bore or socket to receive the inner end of the contact making parts which are aiiixed to the cablev end. The closed ends or heads of the opposed contact caps are united by bent strips of copper or equivalent material l2 which are fastened in place by screws 13. These strips electrically connect the caps and also form a flexible coupling which will take care of contraction and expansion of the conductors in the direction of their length and also reduce to a minimum the strains which would be occasioned by any lack of alignment ofl the two insulators 4 and their caps. It is oi paramount importance to prevent cracking of the porcelain insulators during manufacture and assembly both in the factory and in the leld.

In order to obtain a lsuitable distribution of the electric eld about the contact caps and coupling, a metal shell or shield lis provided which surrounds them. It has inturned ends which cover the outer ends of the caps and closely surround and are supported by the porcelain insulators. Because of its shape the shell in order to be assembled has to be divided and in this instance it is divided longitudinally into two equal parts as shown in Fig. 4 and the joint between the parts is soldered or otherwise made. Prior to uniting the halves of the shell a iiexible conductor 15 is secured at one end to the shell and the other end to one of the contact caps so that said parts have the same potential. The shell and aiacent ends of the insulators are covered with numerous layers of paper 16 or other insulating material, which layers are applied longitudinally so. that the electrical forces will be perpendicular to the surface of the paper. In applying the paper, suitable binding material is used, for example a silk thread is wrapped thereon between every three or four layers.

As the diameter of the shell 14 is larger than that of the inner ends of the linsulators e, a second body 'of insulation 17 is provided at each end of the shell which covers a part of the insulators and also the ends of the insulation 16. It is made of folded-over paper tapewhich is held in place by any suitable binding means.

Over the insulations thus applied is a third body of insulation 18 made of impregnated cable paper. In forming this body a width'of paper is selected which is great enough to cover the central body and all or Apractically all of the end bodies of applied insulation. When finished the outer body forms a tube, and the layers are prevented from loosening by means of any suitable binding material.

In assembling the parts of the joint thus f described the inner parts are iirst prepared and insulated, after which the casing parts are slipped endwise into place and properly united to forma hermetically sealed casing. The casing is then' evacuated and for this purpose the fitting 20 is employed. `After being evacuated the casing is iilled with degasified oil and sealed at the tting 20, after which the joint is ready to be sent to the place of installation. In this connection particular attention is called to the fact that the jointer in completing the joint in no way disturbs the casing oritsfcontents, all necessary work thereon having been done at the factory. Due to this much time and labor are saved in the iield and elaborate evacuating and lling operations are avoided.

Each connector comprises a relatively long sleeve having a socket 2l at one end to receive the strands 22 of the conductor after the insulation 23 thereof has been removed in a series of steps. Inside the conductors and resting on an internal shoulder in the socket is a anged metal sleeve 24,' one end of which engages the spirally wound metal core 25 over which the conductors are stranded. The core of the cable when installed is illled with degastilied oil or other liquid insulation and since it is dilcult.

to make a soldered ioint under these conditions a vice or other mechanical device is employed to squeeze the wall of the socket about the conductor strands, the sleeve 2e serving to withstand the pressure so exerted. Each connector also has a tubular extension 25 of smaller diameter than the socket and contains ports 26 through which oil is free to ow from the cable core into and through the smallannular space between the conductor covering and the inner wall of the porcelain insulator. In the socket portion oi the connector is a small chamber 27 which contains oil received from the cable core. The opening from the chamber to the tube 25a is controlled by a small valve or stopper 28 to which is attached a thread or string 28e for seating it. This valve is seated when'the socket is applied to the conductor end so as to prevent the escape of oil from the conductor core and remains in this position until the work oi as'- sembling is completed'. The string is broken before the cable end is inserted in the factory made joint. During the period of time required to strip the conductor of its lead sheath and insulation preparatory to applying the connector a limited amount of oil will escape from the core which serves to prevent the entrance into the cable of air and moisture. The amount o oil which escapes will be largely governed by the pressure exerted by the reservoir at the end of the cable away from the place where the joint is being made.

Surrounding the tube 25a and spaced there- -from is a series of individually movable contact bars 29 which are loosely held at one end by a band or ring 30 and at the other emi by a disk 31 which is screw threaded on the end of the tube and has a groove 32 to receive the notched ends of the bars. A steel spring 33 is located between each pair of bars and 'exerts pressure therein tangentially. Since the bars are radially disposed about a common center these springs press them outwardly, the band or ring 30 limiting their outward movement at one end while the groove 32 acts as a pivot for each of the bars. The bars are individually connected to the base oi' the socket by iiexible copper connectors 34 which permit each bar to properly seat or, engage with the wall or bore of the contact cap and because of the resiliency of the structure as a whole this will take place without imposingany ,undue strains on the cap and hence on the porcelain insulator.

After the mechanical parts are assembled the wall of the socket and adjacent stepped insulation 23 are covered with a body of insulation,

`such as varnished tape V35 for example. The

cable end is then covered with insulation 36 for example of paper tape to the desired thickness. After this the electrostatic controls 37, Fig. 2, are mounted in place. These controls are made of two pieces of metal united by anges and screws and are ared to t over the insulatlQIl 36.

Having prepared the cable ends, the next step is to slip them into place in, open ends of the factoryI prepared part of the joint, aftei which the thimbles 38 which have previously been slipped over the cable ends are connected to the casing and'to. the lead sheath 39 of the cable by wiped soldered joints e0. To some part oi the casing on the cable side of the heed is atteched n iltting el by which this part of the casing is first evacuated and later llerfl with deeasied oil and through which oil tney be enmitted to and received from the cable as its temperature changes, a suitable reservoir being used for the purpose. This treatmenthes to be followed loi lootli ends of the joint.

As has been previously stated the valves 28 sie seated and hence oil from the core cannot ilow from the core through the clemence space between the porcelain insuletoi and the cable into the chamber e2 as is necesseiy. To unseat the valves, which seal the ceble sections against loss oi oil, it being remembered that the ccsins,l in ell its perte is completely filled with oil, pressure is applied to the oil in the chamber i2 through the ttine el, es by e pressure pump for exemple, to o velue sciently in excess of that in 'the ceble core to unseat the valves 2c end v oemait them to ieu into the chembers 27 where they no longer obstruct the low of oil to snol itom the cable core. The pump is then removed enti the usuel connection mede between time` tting encl e, reservoir oi suitable chei'ectei. Wiesn the seals are broken oil from the cable -is in free communication with those spaces beyoud or outside of the insulators, for exemple those defined by perte 3 of the casing.

En the pest 2 of the casing which is in the icint side ci? the heeel oi pnstition c which divides same into two chambers, is e fitting Ait oi'cilnnrily is not in use but which may used in. cese ci oli leslsege in e; cable section Nycncl euppw oil, to seid section. may slome comcting both fittings ci end @i3 to on oli cesesvoii. Uncle? tliese conditions the toitzt is temporei'lly ineective es c joint but will nevertheless supply oil to telic cere ci i tactil e repen can he o le citer which, will ce sealed or plugged. ci o semete ntting i3 the tting 2c may loe emoioyecli cle-sited. l lt mcy @lso ce ,tainted out that tice valves will i'emsin closed cluiing the period that the f 42 enel spaces commmiiecting cwitli ere evacuated and hence tlieie no domes ci the vacuum pump withdrawing imm the cable.

c A ioiecoing it seen tient the t snel its centaines. parte sie constructed to chipped to customeia e unitnsy struc1 ture, in other words, as an article ot manufacturee In some instances these joint casing parts will be shipped for use with cable and terminal parts for c, new installation end in others as repair or replacement parte. 1t is evident that modiilcetions may be made in the particular form of the contact devices located within the contact oeps without requiring changes in the casing and its parts..

it will be seen that by reason of my improved consti'uction the casing and its parte may be mede et the factory where the conditions of manufacture are most favorable, that the interior of the casing is evacuated enel lled with oil so that no sir or moisture can entes, end that so for es this port ot the ioint is concerned the jomter takes no port in its manufacture end does not have to disturb it in any wey in making e, joint ell of which results in a. better ond cheaper final product.

No claims are mede herein to my improved method of ,loining iluid lled cables, as iisu closed, suola method claims forming the subject metter of e cli-pending divisional opplicction Serial Number 711,121, flied toy me Merch 23, i934.

Wliet claim as new end :lesite to secure oy Lettess Potent oi the United States is:

l. fi joint for connecting tice ends oi lligl'i tension Quid illed cable sections comnisin;n e, casing, o pair oi insletors located within the cosine, n contact cap mounted on each insuletoi', e, contsct clevice mounted on socio cable enel which commises o holulelity oi i'eeiiclly movable bers, nucl e, spring loceteci between each nel? ci becs which messes them into engagement with the inner well of the ceo.

A joint for comiectiificr the ends ci high. tension luid tilleul electric cebles compi'ising c casing, e, peli ci tenermi; tilleuls? insetoi's cosxioly mounted within seid casing, metallic oeps in electriccl communication with ecole ottici mounted on ends of :citi insulators, seid cops e cylindrical hummel hote i'oiming e socket osulcstanticlly the seme cliemetet es the internet diemeter of the smeli enci oi the tilleuls? insuletois on which "i ey mounted, inteiioi wells oi seid soci: .'oming sii@ stsnticl contln ustioni ci interior solei solo. iusuletors, casing cmd een: y, teeming e, cimmcei, c, metallic shield. solei chamber sni'iounziine seid cores and the adjacent 'positions oz seiol insulctois, c iicfy of insuletioii imei its 

